The United Auto Workers filed a $3.5 million lawsuit against PACCAR Inc. in federal court in Nashville Nov. 19. The lawsuit charges that 500 members of UAW Local 1832 who received layoff notices Aug. 26, 2002, were cheated out of seven weeks' paychecks when the company reportedly locked them out Sept. 3, 2002.

"It's the law. If you're going to lay somebody off, you have to give them 60 days' notice, and you have to pay them during those 60 days," said Gary Casteel, director of UAW Region 8, referring to the federal Worker Adjustment, Retraining and Notification (WARN) Act.

The lockout took place at the Peterbilt heavy-truck factory in Madison, TN. Peterbilt is a unit of Bellevue, WA-based PACCAR, one of the nation's leading truck manufacturers.

"Our members didn't get their 60 days," Casteel said. "Peterbilt announced 500 layoffs on Aug. 26, and a week later, they locked those workers out, with no pay, no benefits, no anything."

"We believe the company owes our members seven weeks' pay, and we want Peterbilt to live up to its obligations," Mike Pardue, president of UAW Local 1832, said. Seven weeks' pay for 500 workers, he said, adds up to about $3.5 million, including wages and other compensation. Peterbilt reportedly locked out 750 members of Local 1832 - including 500 who had received layoff notices - after a contract between UAW members and the company expired, and the two sides had not reached a new agreement.